6 Tips for Flawless Kale Chips + All-Dressed Kale Chips recipe

March 12, 2014Angela (Oh She Glows)

by Angela (Oh She Glows) on March 12, 2014

I’ve suffered through one too many batches of burned or soggy kale chips over the years. It took me a while to master my baked kale chip recipe, but I’ve learned some valuable lessons along the way and I’d like to pass my tips along to you! From the good ‘ol Culinary School of Hard Knocks (aka: my kitchen) to you. Gotta love it.

The first time I made kale chips I remember thinking, “Should they taste burnt like this??” The easy answer is no. I’ve come to find a nice balance between crispiness and chewiness without any burnt edges. Yes, this is very serious business, this kale chip business. When baked properly, they really do make the perfect base for a satisfying chip alternative.

I know some people are eager to claim that kale is “over” due to its popularity in recent years, but seeing as it’s still rated number #1 (along with Mustard/Turnip/Collard Greens) on the Aggregate Nutrient Density Index (ANDI), I don’t think it’s going anywhere anytime soon. At least not in my diet. Kale for life!

With these few simple techniques you’ll be well on your way to kale chip bliss. Or maybe you already are, in which case, feel free to skip ahead to my All-Dressed Baked Kale Chip recipe below and get crunching!

Ok, here are my top 6 tips for baking the perfect kale chips. No dehydrator required.

1. Remove the stems and tear leaves into large pieces

I don’t know about you, but I’m not a fan of chewing through woody baked kale stems. I remove the stems very quickly by grabbing the base of the stem with one hand and pushing outwards along the stem to slide off the leaves. Works like a charm!

2. Wash and thoroughly dry the leaves before beginning

If the leaves aren’t properly dried, the water can “steam” the kale chips while baking and lead to the dreaded soggy kale chip! Be sure they are nice and dry before you massage in the oil. A salad spinner works great; just be sure not to overload it so the leaves can properly dry.

3. Don’t skip the oil, but don’t drench it in oil either

A little bit of extra virgin olive oil (or coconut oil, if you prefer) goes a long way. I like to use ½ tablespoon of oil per baking sheet of kale chips. “Massage” the oil into the leaves to ensure all the nooks and crannies are coated. Oil also helps the spices stick to the leaves.

4. Spread kale into a single layer on the baking sheet

I used to dump all the kale into a very thick layer on the baking sheet and hope for the best, but doing this tends to lead to soggy, unevenly baked kale chips. I’ve learned to be a bit more patient and spread them out into a thinner layer on each baking sheet. Be sure to rotate the baking sheet half-way through baking. There’s no real need to flip the chips unless you have the patience for it.

5. It’s all about the low-heat for even baking

As I wrote in my cookbook, I tested all kinds of kale chip recipes at different temperatures from very low to high heats. Surprise, surprise the batches that worked the best were the ones I baked at a very low temperature of 300F. Sure, it takes a bit longer to bake, but I can assure you it’s worth it because you don’t get any burnt pieces. Remember, the goal is to crisp the kale, not scorch it into smithereens! In my oven, I bake at 300F for 10 minutes, then I rotate the pan, and bake for another 15 minutes. So 25 minutes total for kale chip perfection in my oven. This will vary based on your oven, but it’s a good starting off point!

6. Cool for just a few minutes on the baking sheet

I’ve found that waiting just 3 minutes allows the kale chips to crisp up even more once they are out of the oven. Just like baked cookies or roasted chickpeas, kale chips really firm up even more when cooled. Those 3 minutes will feel like hours though. I won’t lie.

Bonus tips: Avoid adding liquids (such as vinegars or hot sauces) pre-baking as liquids can result in soggy chips. It’s best to add a light spritz of liquid seasoning after they’ve been baked, if at all. Also, if your oven has one, feel free to try out the dehydrator or convection setting.

Now, read on for my All-Dressed Kale Chip recipe! I promise this batch will not last long…minutes while standing in front of the oven if you are like me.

Tips:

Feel free to make these in a dehydrator if you have one. You can also experiment with the convection or dehydrator setting on your oven (if applicable).

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I can’t end this post today without thanking you for your lovely comments in my recent post. I’m reading through all of them and greatly appreciate the support, advice, and love. Sketchie’s staple removal went fine (it took a few minutes and didn’t seem to even bother him) and he is healing well from surgery.

I’m so glad I’ve followed you for other healthy recipes! When my current meal plan called for kale chips & directed to bake them @ 350 to desired crispness, I knew right where to turn for specific directions. I’m SO glad I did because had I baked them @ 350 as they directed, they would have burned as my kale chips have in the past! Your directions were great for me! I baked @ 300 for 10 minutes, rotated the pan then baked another 10 minutes. They are perfect! Thanks again for posting such wonderful recipes!

I tried for hours to dry my kale after washing it!!! Finally completely frustrated I got out my hair dryer!! So after blotting rolling with towels they are still not dry! After shaking they were still wet. Put your wet kale in a large bowl so it won’t blow away. Put hand held hair dryer on lowest setting, hold about a foot away and blow until dry! It works

You can blot dry with some clean towels, too. I used my convection roast setting and they were ready 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees. Be careful on the salt, they tend to be really salty after crisping. I did olive oil, Greek seasonings, pepper from the mill and pink Himalayan salt from a mill, also. Delish!

I struggled with drying as well. I found that I had the best results after placing washed kale into organic cashmere sweater, obtaining small commercial aircraft license, tying said sweater to back of my new Cessna, and doing a few laps over death valley. Getting the proper FAA permits was a bear, but totally worth it!

Tip for those without a salad spinner….I always do this, and refuse to buy one after learning this method: Italian campground ‘salad spinner’ = put wet kale in a tea towel (light weight dish towel or cheese cloth, whatever you have), secure all corners. Hold on to the corners so everything stays inside, go outside and whip it over your head repeatedly until the water stops sprinkling out. Hold on tight!

We discovered this amazing method to dry HUGE amounts of Kale, and it works EVERY time.

After washing it in my bathtub (we grow our own so we have tons of it!!) I place it in a flannel pillowcase, and toss it in the DRYER. 20 min – 30 min later it’s so dry it’s craziness! I also use a spray bottle to spritz the oil on it… give you just the right amount.

My mom used to wrap the lettuce up in a tea towel after washing then throw it in the washing machine on the spin cycle. Worked great for her. I happen to own a salad spinner but with large amounts I bet that would work great too!

Kale will never be “over”! Thanks for all your tips, I’m sure when I make your all-dressed kale chips they’ll be my best batch ever.
Do you always use curly kale? Just wondering if you think it works better than lacinato?

Nutritional yeast is a special yeast that is grownand then dried) as a nutritional supplement. It is sold in many health food stores and looks like a flaky yellow powder. It has a cheesy flavor and is full of B vitamins. I love it on popcorn too! DO NOT use the baking yeast that you have in the fridge!

Red Star nutritional yeast is a staple to my plant food way of eating. It is wonderful added to any foods basically (except fruit lol), the best on popcorn (organic nongmo of course). Is great substitute for cheese! And full of Bvitamins.

Great tips, Ange!! I have to admit, I’ve baked my fair share of too-crisp and too-soggy kale chips (mostly my own fault for either rushing and setting my oven to 400 because I was starving, or trying to achieve a super duper salt and vinegar flavour with far too much vinegar!) I agree with you – low temperature and just the right amount of oil are key!

Thanks Cash and thanks Angela for the post! Just got a dehydrator which works great but sounds like the oven is faster. I have struggled with the crunch factor (not that there is much left the next day) and will try the air tight container with rice.

I haven’t tried this so I can’t vouch for if it’ll work – but the logic seems sound. Use one of those Silica gel (“DO NOT EAT”) packs that come in shoes, purses….AND bags of bought kale chips! I would assume one of those in your Ziploc bag/container of chips will help keep the moisture down.

To be honest, I don’t think they retain their crispiness no matter how I’ve stored them (glass or otherwise). You might have success reheating them in the oven the next day (I do this with roasted chickpeas all the time and it works great).

I heard that if you save those little freshness packets that come with medicine & supplements and store your leftover kale chips with one of those in the container, they will retain some of their crispness.

They need to be stored in an airtight container and they fill up with moisture rather quickly when exposed to “fresh air”.

You would need a very large amount of these packets and they would have to be active and then stored in a sealed bag with the chips.

You can bake the packets to remove moisture but I do not recommend it for 100 obvious reasons.

You can buy larger versions of these packages ( pelican sells one) I do not know if they are good safe either and are more for electronic equipment.

So in short, throw those packages away they are too small and inactive. They will do nothing. They are intended to keep vitamins etc fresh at the time of
packaging and they degrade quickly…and think of how small that container is when sealed. You would need a pack at least 40X its size and the keyword is it has to be ACTIVE.

Just a bit about silica gel: I don’t know as I would reuse the packets that came with something not food, who knows what might contaminate it. However–I grow edible flowers for some very picky chefs, and small flowers or petals are often candied with sugar and dried for use many months later. The candied flowers would absorb water from the air and get soggy like your kale chips if stored normally. Silica gel can be bought in several sizes of granules, and in packages as much as several pounds at the retail level, for use in keeping foods dry and crisp. There are indicator crystals included, which are blue when ready to use, and turn pink as they absorb water. Directions to refresh the gel beads are on the packages, you do have to heat it in the oven, but it’s reusable indefinitely.

With that said, it would be simple to put a layer of silica gel beads (I use a larger size like little seed beads rather than sand-size) in the bottom of a tight sealing container like tupperware, and put your chips on top. It works for edible flowers just fine. If you can only find the fine sand-like gel particles, you might try putting a layer of paper over the silica gel and then the chips.

I thought the same thing. Whatever you do, don’t use the silica gel absorbers (adsorbers?) WITH oxygen absorbers. The silica keeps the oxygen absorbers from working (needs SOME moisture to activate). But silica can be used again using one of a variety of methods. Oxygen absorbers cannot be “recharged” (when they are hardened they are done). Just thought I’d give this input based on what I learned from an expert in food preservation. Also, somewhere I read that silica should not be used with food. Don’t know if it is true as it was just stated previously that silica packs come in kale chips. To that commenter: Are you sure it wasn’t an oxygen absorber?

Ive burnt, flooded/over-oiled, under-oiled, charred, turned to coal dust, etc. so much kale in my life but finally feel like Ive got it under control. Low oven like you said, is key! Great pots & info. pinned

After many failed attempts, and many lost bunches of valuable kale, I had given up on the kale chip. Buuuuuuut, after reading this and being a sucker for the ‘all dressed’ flavour, I think I shall try it again. Thanks Angela!
PS – My cat Louis & I have been saying prayers for Sketchie. xxoo

I haven’t made kale chips in forever but I do love them! Smoked paprika has recently become a favorite spice so I am loving that it is included in this recipe. Looks like I am making kale chips this weekend! (And I will likely eat the whole pan while standing at the stove).

To be honest, I don’t think they retain their crispiness no matter how I’ve stored them (glass or otherwise). You might have success reheating them in the oven the next day (I do this with roasted chickpeas all the time and it works great)

“Kale for life!”
Heck ya! Did you see though, Ginny Messina had a post on how maybe vegans need to eat more beans & less kale (an issue with potassium, as I recall). Anyway, I agree, kale’s not going anywhere anytime soon, especially now that they sell those huge bags of pre-washed kale which makes it super duper easy to eat it every day.

Hi Ange,
I’ve been a long time reader, and I just bought your book. It is nothing short of AMAZING!!! Your photos are beautiful, and I love how the recipes are made using things that I already have in my kitchen, just like your recipes on the blog.
Best wishes to Sketchie, and lots of love coming his way

Thanks Angela! These are some great tips! Sometimes my kale chips have turned out really well, and other times they have been a major fail and I wasnt sure why. Now I know what to do to make them perfect. My peak half marathon races are coming up soon, and it is about that time when I need to focus on my nutrition to ensure I am doing everything I can to reach that 1:13 goal! This will be a great snack I can enjoy without sacrificing my training :)

I’m going to try this recipe in my dehydrator ASAP! Can’t wait. I’m on a raw food kick and I am excited for this new sauce. I’ll let you know how it goes! Thanks for the recipe. I hope Sketchie is doing well. :)

Oh one more thing, have you tried using coconut oil instead of olive oil? Coconut oil is the only oil that doesnt turn into a trans fat when heated at high temp. I tried this recipe as dehydrated kale chips. I added half a cup of soaked cashews with all your ingredients plus a bit of water and dehydrated them for 12 hours on 110 degrees. They are unreal!!!! Thanks for the recipe Angela. Ill be making these often.

As far as I know, olive oil won’t degrade until you start really scorching it (in the 500 degrees). Especially in this case we are keeping it low enough that I don’t think it would be a problem and since coconut oil is almost all saturated fat, I think olive oil is still the best choice.

Two things real quick: First, thank you thank you for all these tips, as I’ve tried kale chips in the past and been positively hopeless at them but would very much like not to be; second, of course my fondest wishes and most sincere support for you all and Sketchie, and I’ve had staples out myself and please trust me when I say he probably didn’t even really feel it (it’s actually much less bothersome than having stitches removed).

Love this! Made a batch of kale chips last weekend following the recipe in your cookbook and added almost these exact spices! Only thing I didn’t think of was chili powder. And I think I added too much paprika, the smoky flavor definitely overpowered the others. I’m sure I’ll be trying another batch soon! They’re too addicting.

This is perfect, I burnt a batch last week (my first attempt) and I think it was because I torn the kale in pieces too small. My mother-in-law still has kale on her organic veggie patch, so I’ll have to try again next weekend :)

Great tips, Angela! I just got your book (arrived from Amazon just in time for my birthday) and I can’t even put into words how excited I am to try all the recipes. I mean, ALL the recipes! I think I might just have to start at the beginning and work my way through. :)

Hi Angela, Your cookbook just arrived in the mail today….I am so excited. Haven’t had a chance to study it yet, but it looks amazing. Pictures, recipes everything!! I can hardly wait to sir down and sink my teeth into it:) I make kale chips all the time in the dehydrator. I make sure to take them out of the dehydrator right away after they are crisp and store in either plastic or glass container and they stay crispy. We live in the sunny Okanagan and kale chips are always a hit at the beach in summer:)

Thank you so much Angela! My kale chips always get all soggy and wet. And it almost makes me cry because I love kale chips so much! I am so going to try you recipe out this weekend, and have a cosy time with chips and a movie. And I just ordered your book – I am sooo excited to receive it and make all of your mouth watering recipes.

On a completely different noote, I have a question for you. I have been a vegetarian for quite long now, and I eat vegan at home, and it’s just what I love eating. I don’t want to eat anything that isn’t vegan just because I am at a friend. How do you deal with this? I don’t mind people asking me why I eat vegan, but I am tired of feeling like I am trouble when I eat out or visit a friend.

We use our dehydrator to make our Kale Chips and they are delicious and stay crispy. Of course, it takes longer but not much chance of burning them.

BTW, I made the Walnut-Lentil loaf from your cookbook last night. It was family approved. I will chop and prep all ingredients beforehand next time. My kitchen looked like a disaster after using every chopping machine and instrument I have! Thanks, enjoying the book very much!

Everything I have made from your cookbook is awesome! I see it is going viral on Amazon! #1 in three categories and #51 on Amazon overall – you are putting vegan cooking on the map! Good job – I love it!

Thank you, Angela, for the kale roasting tips. I’ve come to realize with many roasted recipes that lower and slower results in a better outcome. I’ve had my share of burned roasted vegetables and have been suspicious of kale chip recipes that call for a higher temp than you have found to be best. I look forward to making good kale chips. Also, I wish for Sketchie the very best outcome.

I’m a victim (that’s right, victim) to kale that isn’t completely dried when I go to make kale chips (it’s their own fault for not self-drying! haha). Can you believe that I don’t own a salad spinner? I think I’ll put it on my birthday list this year (along with a billion other things I want/need for the kitchen), joint birthday sharer!!

I have some Kale at home, was hoping to get to making chips last weekend but…where did the weekend go?
I make my version of ‘hint of lime’ kale chips. I give a squeeze of lime and prinkle a BIT of salt on them once laid out on the cookie sheet and voila, a great substitute for the ‘other’ hint of lime chip.

Drying the leaves is what I’ve found to be the keystone to crunchy kale chips. We spin them in a salad spinner (favorite step for my kiddos), then place them on paper towels to dry. Even better if done the day before. This is a great dish to cook with kids. I let my little ones experiment with different seasonings like paprika, garlic salt and cumin, then we offer ’em up in a tasting bar. Great fun! Thanks for all of these tips, Angela. Keep the kale chips comin’!

Angela,
Where do I begin? I have followed your blog for years and I thought I would finally reach out (especially because these kale chips look positively divine!!!). I absolutely adore everything you post and so many of your recipes have made their way into my kitchen and are family favorites :) You are inspiration to so many people (as I’m sure you already know). Your articulate, lovely, and compassionate blog has made my vegan lifestyle so much easier, I sincerely cannot sing your praises enough. I just hope you know how much you transform people’s lives with your work.

I also literally jumped about 5 feet in the air when I got your cookbook in the mail…I was so excited! You should be so proud of all your success…it is so deserved! I’m just 23 but I know quality when I see it (and eat it!). I hope Sketchie is doing well, you are so thoughtful to share his journey. I have a puppy named Andy and I can’t imagine how I would react. You are so poised and mature, it is something to aspire to. Anyway, I hope you have a wonderful day and that you know there are so many people who love your work and care about Sketchie :)

Also I’m sorry if this comment came across as random as well…I know this post was about kale chips! Which I will certainly try! I just wanted to tell you how much of an impact your blog has had. It is so beautiful!

This is great- can’t wait to try! I just wanted to say THANK YOU ANGELA! I love that I know I can make any one of your recipes for my family or a dinner party knowing that it will turn out perfect- and it does thanks to all of your trials and tribulations (and not mine:)). I truly appreciate all of your dedication in wanting dishes to be healthy, easy and taste good. I am grateful that I found your blog a few months ago! Thank you!

Just wanted to tell you that I stumbled across you blog about two weeks ago and was so impressed with your recipes that I just had to buy your cookbook! It arrived in the mail today and I dove right in! Made these kale chips today and they were so yummy! I am not even vegan but the recipes in the book look so yummy and satisfying to anyone! So so happy to have your book in my collection :) thank you!

Angela, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!! I cannot tell you how many kale chip recipes I have tried that came out soggy/burnt/inedible. These truly are PERFECT. My daughter and I inhaled them within 5 minutes! So light and crispy. Yum! Oh and your cookbook is amazing. I had preordered in July and it was definitely well worth the wait. Truly fantastic! Congrats to you :)

If you’re serious about getting the full bang for your buck nutritionally, invest in a dehydrator. Perfect kale chips every time and you haven’t killed the beneficial enzymes by heating them above 115 degrees.

After purchasing expensive kale chips in the store, I became hooked and HAD to learn how to make them. You read my mind and posted this recipe days after I became obsessed with kale. I just made a batch and I am in love! They have also won over the roommates too! :)

Great tips and such a yummy sounding recipe! I love kale chips and I’ve been fortunate enough to never had made a bad batch (they have come out a slightly un crisp, but still quite edible at least). But I tend to make the same recipe over & over again – I should switch it up!

Oh, mannnnnn… Thanks so much for this. My son is crazy for Kale Chips. It makes me giggle–he thinks they are junk food! He’ll say, “mom, we haven’t had Kale Chips in a long time!” Then we have veggie burgers and kale chips for dinner. :-)

I make kale chips fairly often but this combination of seasonings takes them to a whole other level! First time I ever got my 7 year old son to try a kale chip…because he said they smelled so good! Delicious!!!

Just a second note to say I tried this combination of seasonings on sliced roasted potatoes with just a touch more oil and my kids devoured them! Also, got a copy of your cookbook today and WOW…so amazing. I knew the recipes would be great but it is so visually appetizing as well. I will be sharing copies with my vegan eating friends and family. You deserve much success!!!

We just made this with your spice mix and it was SO good. I put another batch in the oven since we (my 4yr, 2yr, and myself) devoured it. This second batch I added 1/2 T of Braggs Organic ACV for an oil replacement. I know it has a really strong taste so we will see how it turns out, but it coated/massaged in the kale nicely and the spices stuck well. I imagine they will taste like Smoked Apple BBQ chips!

Making kale chips is a real art and such great satisfaction (& reward in eating them!) when you have success with them! I always used to put vinegar on before baking them–maybe that’s why they would only sometimes work out. I’m using your tips and sliding a batch in the oven right now!

Researching kale chips for the first time and ran across your info. My family has a small farm and we sale kale at local farmer’s markets. I was thinking of making some of these with my extra kale and sell them at the market. My question is would they still be crispy? How long would they stay crispy after packaging? I was several food dehydrators and a convectional oven..would one of these best better than the other?

My dad makes these all the time and he actually stores them in a small lunch size paper bag. Not only does it soak up a bit of the residual oil– it keep the chips incredibly crispy for days after. His most recent batch was awesome– olive oil and fresh aged parmesan shredded on top! The parm batch is so delish it doesn’t see the light of another day so I can’t comment on storage w/ cheese. Enjoy :)

They came out perfect!my first time!thank u so much every one for the tips!
I used 3/4 tsp of coconut oil with salt n powdered garlic. I patted the kale dry then let it sit in my windowsill to dry off completely. I then saw they had began softening up and i kindly rubbed on and massaged the coconut oil on them. I was going to eat them with my lentils(I was cooking congruently) but i devoured them instantly as soon as they cooled a bit. Good thing I had enough to make a second batch! ~Peace, health n luv to all. Namaste.

I stumbled across this article making my very first batch of kale chips today. They were fantastic!! I used all of your suggestions however i seasoned with medditeranian seasoning and fresh parmesan/romano mixture. My teenagers couldnt get enough. My daughter said Way to go kale! LOL

Perfection! I’ve been planning to make these for a while, but am glad I looked again today for tips/recipes before I started. I was a bit skeptical that 300 would do it, but must admit, they are perfect! Thanks for doing all the work and sharing!

I have been looking for new ways to put kale in my diet because even though I am vegan, I don’t love it. I use it to make green smoothies and now will be making kale chips! I chose your recipe because I really liked the combination of spices. They came out great, following your tips to the letter! A couple were a little soggy but I think just those couple ended up with too much oil on them. The rest were light and crisp! Thanks so much. Will be sharing this with friends and on facebook.

I always had soggy or burnt kale chips until I realized I could finish them in the food dehydrator. This takes care of wet centers and leaves you with a crispy, crunchy, dry chip. Less oil needed for cooking, too!

I tried them for the first time tonight. At 300 degrees for 25 minutes, it made mine too done, the taste wasn’t bad with the exception of being a tad scorched. I didn’t know what I’d like best so half of them had olive oil, half coconut oil. Some had bacon flavor, some with basil, garlic & parmesean cheese. I even tried a few with white cheddar popcorn flavoring. and a few with cumin. I think they would all be great if I cut back to 20 minutes.

Hi, what seasonings or dressings are good on kale? I loved the ‘chips’ but not the plain salt and olive oil. I’ll admit I added some garlic salt. I’m a garlic and spice girl. Any dips or sprays or anything to make it taste better than just salt? Which, BTW, I never use salt, in anything, except maybe a dash in hubby’s pot roast and pretend I added more so he’ll eat it!

I am so glad to have found this! I grew up eating kale and never knew how great it was for us. My grandmother always cooked everything in lard, and as an adult I realized how much I actually love the taste of kale (and other greens) on it’s own. I’ve been wanting to try to make some chips, but I’ve been a little intimidated. This step by step is motivating because you’ve included the trial and error aspect. I’m trying to move towards a vegetarian diet, and just recently discovered nutritional yeast. I will definitely give this a try now, thanks!

just got home from vacation to an abundance of kale in my garden.
made vegan dad’s creamed kale and was looking for a recipe for kale chips.
came upon yours and with your tips they turned out perfect!
thanks for another great recipe!

Love your tips and spice recipe. With your help, my batch was perfection! I have a tip to share as well… I used the “Misto” to spray on the olive oil. Great results – used less and got even coverage. Making your recipe again and experimenting; skipping the salt and sprinkling with grated Parmesan. Thanks for the inspiration!

Hi, Just wanted to note maybe it was my oven, and/or that the kale I used was a little more delicate, but I them. :( I think next time I can adjust better, I am determined to try again. We have a dehydrator but it takes so much time and heats up the space, so I’m glad to use this alternative!

My husband made these for me as a surprise this past weekend, and they are wonderful. Neither of us have had kale chips, and we had gotten some farmer’s market kale that weekend just so we could try making some. I didn’t make them, so I can’t really say how easy it was from personal experience, but if my husband can make them, then anybody can. I can’t wait to have them again. One bunch of kale was gone in about 3 minutes.

Oh. Wow. I’m blown away.
I’ve tried several Kale Chip recipes and had some disastrous results and then some results that were, meh, O.K.
I followed your recipe and JUST pulled the tray out of the oven. After (impatiently) waiting for a few minutes I tried one. Amazing. Perfect. Flawless.
Thank you so much!
Rob

Just made several batches of these, and they are PERFECT. Completely crispy, but not burnt. The trick really is using juuuuust a bit of olive oil, and “massaging” it into the leaves. Thanks so much for the recipe!

Thanks so much for these tips that helped me make fabulous kale chips. Also though you might be interested in my blog today which is about types of kale and best uses – purple kale makes the best kale chips for sure :)

I have discovered a way to keep kale chips crisp. If you have a gas kitchen range, place the left over into the oven with only the pilot light on. I prepared 2 bunches of Crispy kale chips on a Monday and placed what we didn’t eat into the unlit oven. On Thursday when we polished them off, they were still crisp. Possibly they could have remained crisp longer–but it’s unusual for them to be around that long!

I searched on line to find a recipe and came across this one. I have never tried making Kale Chips before, but these were delicious. They came out perfect, and I can’t stop eating them. The seasoning was a nice touch! Thank you, Carol

I appreciate this recipe as I have made kale many times, sort of winging it and they have come out fabulous, tolerable and terrible. A recipe to ensure a more consistent outcome is just what I need.

A comment on keeping them crisp: Put them in a container (glass, plastic, matters not…) and put in a small handful of uncooked white rice!! YES! This works! If someone else already said it above, I apologize for repeating it. : )

Got bags of kale for .25 cents at aldi so you know what that means!!!! First timer…. Followed the directions exactly… (W/o seasoning) and they were slighty burnt whaaaaa. Did not stop me from eating them. Added seasoning blend to second round and pulled out a few min early… Delish! Carnivore husband devoured them. Thanks for the help! I was clueless before this!

Each time I try this recipe, the kale comes out way too salty, enough to make you squint. I halved the seasonings/additions but it didn’t change the result. Do you think it was the kale, was I overcooking etc.?

I just pulled a batch of these out of the oven, and literally said “oh my god” out loud when I tried one. 300 degrees really baked them perfectly, and the spice mix is spot on, too. I might have to cook up the other half of the bunch.

I made a batch of these a few weeks ago, and my kids (6 & 4) had them gone within minutes. I was really surprised that they even tried them, much less ate them. The 6 year has asked several, several times now for me to make more! Thank you for making their first kale chip experience a delicious one!

I have got to say these are the best kale chips I’ve ever had. I tried them in a dehydrator last time and I must say the flavor was markedly improved over the oven. Even if I didn’t burn the chips, there was a bit of a burnt flavor to them (I think maybe the spices cooked faster than the kale?) Not so when dehydrated. Just so much flavor that I finished the entire batch myself *blush*. There is no better way to enjoy kale in my opinion. Thanks for the tips and recipe!

OMGosh!!!! I am a terrible snacker and I just made these as a midnight snack – they are amazing!!! I’ve been teetering on the pescetarian/vegetarian/vegan fence for quite a while now and I have to say your recipes have made the transition so much easier!!! These are definitely my new go-to snacks (typing as I stand over the stove eating them….)

I made these today. I’ve been wanting to make kale chips forever but it seemed complicated and hard. Well, your tips were amazing and they are delicious and light and crispy. I’ve had to walk away from them cos I can’t stop stuffing them in! I didn’t have yeast but i used chilli flakes, salt, pepper and some ground coriander on top and … hang on… i need to get one more…

Thanks so much for the tips – have you tried using dinosaur kale? It makes AMAZING chips! I did some experiments with my kale chips (using your tips here as a starting point) and thought the results might interest you :)

Success!! Honestly I pretty much had given up on making edible kale chips! I always thought they were supposed to be burnt or paper machete texture but I tried your recipe and they are perfect! Easy, delish and strong enough to dip them into something! Thank you for your dedication and commitment to the perfect baked kale chip! (Your cookbook is beautiful and though I’m not vegan I am so excited to try these recipes!)

I have a question regarding coconut oil — I’ve never used it before, and am wondering if you can recommend a good one, specifically for cooking. I see you wrote in another post about some of the great beauty benefits. Do you use the same kind for both beauty and cooking? Should I get refined or unrefined? My husband don’t like strong coconut flavor, so I’m trying to work around that, too.

Thanks for your help, and also for this great looking recipe — can’t wait to try! I am late to the kale chip game but LOVE them now! :)

Hey Ashley,
I use virgin coconut oil for my recipes and for my skin (it’s the least processed option and it does have a light coconut flavour). Refined coconut oil is – you guessed it – more processed and it does not have a coconut flavour. I have only used refined coconut oil in one of my recipes (in my recipe bundle) for the cheese ball because I didn’t want a coconut flavour in it. Hope this helps!

I loved the recipe for kale chips but always find that they have a bitter after taste. Is there any way to eliminate this? Also, I left them on a plate with no cover, and the chips are just as crisp as they were yesterday. Do you think they would be best stored in a breathable container rather than a air tight container?

good to know about the chips staying crispy on a plate! Yes I think a breathable container might be a good thing to try :)
the bitter aftertaste is tricky – I found I got used to it the more I ate kale. Maybe increase the seasonings a bit?

Hi Angela!
Thank you for this wonderful recipe! I made these for my son’s lunch and was reading through the comments about the lack of crispness hours and days after these are baked. I followed your recipe except for adding the oil. I washed my kale, patted it dry, added my dried seasonings, then baked them as you instructed (except when I looked at mine at 10 minutes to turn them, they were totally crispy & done.)
10 mins in the oven and viola! The kale chips are still crispy on day #2 and pack well in my son’s lunch.

Thanks again for the amazing recipe! My 10 year old son was stealing handfuls of these as fast as I could make them!

I have had great success storing kale chips in a paper bag. I fold over the top and put a chip clip on it. The kale chips stay crispy for at least two weeks. By that time I have eaten the last one, so the time trial ends there. :)

Just tried your recipe for my first time making kale chips and they were wonderful! I’ve roasted other things at higher temps but like your method better. Slow and steady… will have to try this lower temp/longer time with Brussels sprouts and broccoli.

I googled and found your recipe for kale chips! I appreciate your sharing your tried and true experiences. I just bought kale and have been wanting to make kale chips forever. I have a convection oven and distinctly remember the KitchenAid salesman telling me my oven was a dehydrator too. Can’t find any info on it in the manual, but I will try the convection. Thank you so much for sharing. Washing kale now! And of course, I will let it completely dry…Is a blower dryer fair game?

OMG…. I recently joined a CO-OP and have been getting lots and lots of Kale. I have made soup, and then more soup… Got a fresh bunch of Kale yesterday, and decided that I would look up recipes for Kale Chips. I have a friend coming over today to do some pre-holiday baking and thought it would be a good snack if they tasted OK. They are wonderful. The only problem I am having is not eating them all before she gets here. I did exactly as you did. Used the salad spinner, a little oil and some sea salt. Baked at 300 for 10 min, moved them around and then almost 15 minutes (a little less because I did use my convection oven). I did manage to let them cool… and then KALE became the IN thing! Sprinkled a little garlic powder on some of them (after they baked) and I can’t get enough of them. I can’t wait for my next batch of Kale.

I just love this site! I have used several of your recipes. I just made kale chips and thought too late to check if you had a Kale Chip recipe. Looking it over now and I still have a bunch of Kale and will definitely be using your recipe for this bunch. Thanks so much for putting your recipes online – it is a real help! My family has 3 vegans, 1 vegetarian, 1 that is reducing meat considerably and 2 that are “regular”. Used your gluten free/vegan cracker recipe tonight – a big hit!! Thanks again!

Oh. my. gosh. they were amazing!!! I tried a different restaurant the first time and they were so soggy and terrible! I took your tips and recipe and they turned out great! No cayenne pepper for me though! Wayyyy to spicy! I don’t personally like chili so I excluded the chili powder and I am very happy with the results! I now am super healthy thanks to you!

Nutritional yeast: is it a must for this recipe? I don’t have any and I was all set to make these. I hesitated to buy a bunch of kale just to chop some up for my salads. It’s just me and I don’t want to be throwing food out because it goes bad. Then I thought… kale chips! I’ve been wanting to make them, and now’s the time. Some I’ll put a few stems aside for a few salads, and the rest for the chips. That is if I don’t HAVE to have the yeast. Oh, and thanks for the tips!

Well, my comment is still awaiting moderation. I had found my answer moments after I posted it, and made these chips. They are amazing. The tips were great! I didn’t use the onion powder. It just happens to be an ingredient I never liked. And I opted not to add cayenne the first time making them. And I didn’t have or use the yeast. I added a little parmesan. I love cayenne, but now that I’ve made and tasted these kale chips, I think they have enough punch with it. Such a healthy snack, topping for a pizza (after it comes out of the oven), and guests will love them.

Thanks to your tips I made kale chips for the first time last night. It took years for me to source kale here in Belgium, and was grateful for your tips to help me make them like a pro the first time around. It turns out that the lower rack cooked fine while the slightly higher rack had the dreaded singed bits, but I ate them anyway. Next time I will take out the upper rack sooner. Will try next time with toasted sesame oil and salt, like the delicious Korean kim (toasted nori) snack!
Predictions that Adriana grows up to be a adept kale chip prepper before kindergarten :) My 4yo DD is eager to help with the next batch.

I had just about given up trying to make these chips. The first time I burned and the second time they first went in the mouth okay Tand then immediately became soft. Then I saw your comments. They turned out GREAT! Thank you for checking into it!

I’m not vegan, I’m pescatarian, but your recipes sure do make me wish I was. I like to try one or two vegan recipes every major holiday and I mainly come to your site because it’s the best. My vegan friend told me about your site last year because it was my first year not eating meat and I didn’t know what I was going to do for thanksgiving. She said I could still do a traditional thanksgiving meal, but instead of turkey have a meat substitute. Last year I made your glazed lentil walnut apple loaf and holiday soup for the soul. I must say I was a little hesitate at first to make the meatless meatloaf because it didn’t look appetizing at first, but my vegan friend assured me it was really good, so I tried it anyways…she was right naturally. My dad also enjoyed your soup having 5 bowl fulls! Last years thanksgiving was such a success that I decided to try another two of your recipes this year, making broccoli and cheeze soup and lentil mushroom walnut balls. I really enjoyed both and so did my family and my friend. However, now I have a lot of thanksgiving leftovers and I didn’t want to keep eating the same over and over again, so I decided to see what other recipes you had on here when I found leftover pumpkin pie casserole. The only thing I substituted was the vegan pumpkin pie for regular pie and I must say it was really good. I think it’s the best thing that I’ve found yet on your website. My mom really liked it too and she doesn’t really care for as she calls it “funky food,” but she ate 3 slices before I told her it was vegetarian and it would have been vegan if I used vegan pumpkin pie instead. I also have leftover kale from my meatballs and i’m not a huge kale fan, but i’m super excited to trying your kale chips! I’ve also tried your vegan pumpkin pie and baked apples stuffed with cinnamon date pecan oatmeal thanks to my one vegan friend. She too loves trying new recipes and testing them on others. I always love trying her vegan food and her inspiration comes from your recipes. I cant wait till Christmas so I can try another few recipes of yours!

Fantastic! These tips are right on! The kale comes out perfectly cooked. I made a batch last night using 3/4 of a bunch of organic kale from Kroger/City Market. After cutting out the stems off & making a few large cuts on the leaves, I carefully dried my kale with two fresh clean dishtowels, rubbing the evoo (liquid, not spray) into the leaves carefully, Light sea salt, used 3 baking sheets ensuring there was plenty of air, carefully separating the leaves on the baking sheets before putting them in the oven. I did not stir/flip. After cooking I left the kale on the sheets for 3 minutes before touching. I left out the spices this time, but will try this recipe as soon as I purchase some nutritional yeast. I took my kale to work and it got two thumbs up. As usual, there was a bit of smoke inside the oven while cooking, but I have a Kenmore cook oven with an air guard feature that keeps the smells out of your house (mostly). Otherwise, I would recommend running the stove fan while cooking crunchy kale. I store my kale in glass tupperware (plastic when taking it with me) and find that it stays relatively crunchy for 2-3 days, which I would consider it’s shelf life anyway. As someone who used to be challenged making crunchy kale, I am grateful to have seen this article. Thank you!!

Great tips and explanation, I knew just what to look for when making made my first ever kale chips today. However I still managed to over cook the first batch, but not inedible, popped this into a chicken, walnut and mango salad, great texture and oh so yum. After adjusting oven temperature, a bit of guess work involved in converting F to C, second batch came out a treat. I just used a good olive oil, some rock salt and paprika as seasoning, tastes great, but unfortunately we were a bit full after the salad to eat these straight away, hopefully they stay okay until later today ;-)

Will definitely try this again, thank you, think I’ll head off and explore your website now.

Thank you for these wonderful tips! I made kale chips for the first time following your advice above and they turned out perfectly! I’m not much of a spice person so I only used Himalayan salt and used butter this time and they were absolutely delicious. I will experiment with coconut oil and olive oil to see which I like the best. Thank you again and have a fabulous 2015!

I have tried this so many times!! and I either burn them or theyre soggy.. thank you for taking the time to write step by step how to do this… I added some grated cheese to the spice mix and yummy! thanks again!

Thank you for the perfect recipe for kale chips. Followed directions exactly and love the results. I experimented with storing these gems and found the best result was placing them in a brown paper bag and folding the top loosely. Still nice and crispy after 3 days! Simple and it works. Now it’s time to enjoy them. Thanks again for sharing.

I made these for the first time. Very tasty,light and crispy. Making the first batch, adding only salt at the end of baking. The second batch adding cajun seasoning with the oil. They turned out great! Additionally…they are stored in a re-sealable bag, just like chips. Also for those of us who do not have a lettuce spinner (do not have room for Every gadget) I laid out paper towels, placing the wet leaves on top and then covering with another layer of paper towels and patting dry. I agree that drying is key.

Hello! quick question: are the chips meant to be eaten right away or they keep crispy for a few hours/days? Because the time I tried (not from your recipe) they were crispy when they came out of the oven, but became soggy over night. I was just wondering what I had done wrong ( I think its because I baked them at a high temp too..). Thanks!

Thank you so much for this recipe. Have just made the chips and eaten them (kale fresh from the garden). They were perfect. I didn’t have the same seasoning – just used what I had, Himalayan salt, ground pepper and chilli. No more burnt and soggy kale chips – Hooray.

Can you explain a bit what you mean by massaging the oil on the kale? I mean, do you just put some on your fingertips and do each leaf one by one? That’s what I picture, but it seems like a lot of extra work? I guess maybe it will be worth it :)

OMG -I don’t know why I haven’t made kale chips before. Easy breezy, and delicious! I ate them all in a few minutes. :-( Making more tomorrow. Soooooo much better than the packaged kind I bought a few months ago, and infinitely cheaper. In love.

This were simply awful….tasted like I was eating seasoned weeds..(my husband’s comments). I don’t care how healthy they may be, no amount of spice would make this palatable and I doubt I would attempt these again.

This was my first time making kale chips – I used my own seasonings (sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, cajun spice + olive oil), but I followed the 6 tips you offered and they turned out absolutely perfect. They are perfectly, delicately crisped!
Thanks!

Thanks for the step by step guide… my kale chips have turned out BEAUTIFULLY. First time i’ve tried making them but certainly won’t be the last. I just seasoned them with garlic salt and a sprinkle of chilli powder and they taste great. I look forward to experimenting with different flavours.

I have tried numerous kale chip recipes and although I love kale and eat it every day, I never found a kale chip recipe that I liked. That has changed! These are AWESOME! I did them in my dehydrator at 125 degrees for 12 hours and they have the greatest taste, are nice and crisp a and will definitely become a staple in my home. Thanks so much for this wonderful recipe!!!

Thanks to you I had perfect Kale chips my very first try. thank you. Now I have to tell you my time saver tip that I added , it’s olive oil spray. Sure is easier to cover the Kale leaves thus wY. A nice light spray and move them around a bit and another light sprY for the missed spots. Cheets

Hi Angela. Just want to let you know I linked this recipe in my blog post today. My blog is all about making the most of life’s moments – and the time spent making kale chips using your suggestions is a perfect way to do just that! They are yummy – Thanks!

This was amazing!!! I’ve tried kale chips a couple of times before and gave up. Your simple tips did the trick and I think I made the most perfect kale chips this morning! (Pretty sure they will all be gone in a few minutes.) Thanks so much! I will definitely be trying the All-Dressed recipe!

Thank you for the recipe, I am going to try making several batches tomorrow. My mother in law was just diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma and she has cut sugar out of her diet completely. I am trying to help her find good snacks that fit with her new diet. Question… how long will these chips be good? Should I keep them in large sandwich bags? Shes going to be on the road visiting different doctors around the United States and possibly overseas.
Thank you again!!

Ha Cheryl, NO lefties,It’s true. These are really good. i did mine in the Ninja 4 in one at 250. I also grew my own kale, it was flat leaf last year & re appeared this year as a little bit more curly. But very flavorful. Not bitter at all this year. So many thanks girls & Cheers!

I will admit I am a kale hater, however, I loved this recipe! My husband loves kale so I thought I would give this a try. One note I would like to add is related to the cooking time. I live at 7000 feet, so I think this might have been the factor that effected my cook time. I turned the pan at 10 minutes and then at an additional 10 minutes I started to smell the kale burning. The next batch I tried 8 minutes with a turn then an additional 8 minutes and had great results. Again I am assuming this is altitude related.

I made these today and after i dried them and put olive oil on them , i put them on a microwave potato chip crisper i purchased at wal-mart for 15.00. In 2 minutes they came out perfect ( on power level 5). Forget the oven !!

DR, I think not. You burned them, most likely. If you do not see them as GREEN GREEN GREEN, you burned them.

They must have no darker tint than green, for those who are anti-bitterness. Please, try again.

If you can take them, even a bit more soggy, then do it. As you eat more things (kale, brussels sprouts, propperly cooked cabbage) that CAN taste bitter, but are cooked properly, you WILL become less sensitive to that anti-bitter reaction.

It’s a natural reaction, and is heightened in females- it is meant to ward against poisons, which are mostly bitter. But do not let it keep you from eating good greens.

First time trying kale chips, and let me just say, I could eat these forever! Ate the whole pan right out of the oven, they were so good! The only problem was they came out a bit burnt, but I guess that just means I’ll have to try again ;)

Hi just made kale chips for the first time, and tasted them for the first time. I think they came out pretty darn good considering. Which means you’re recipe and directions were perfect. Thx so much! They were a little on the salty sad but I’ll adjust. One question tho….how do they do as left overs? Is there a way to package them and be able to eat them next day?

This was wonderful. Baked perfectly the first time. I had a hard time with the dry spices, however; they tasted a bit burnt. Today I let garlic slices sit in the olive oil for about an hour, then used that oil for the chips. Amazingly better than with the powder.

I didn’t have parchment paper, so I used foil and baked at 275 for the same amount of time, and they turned out perfectly! So yummy!! And, be sure to take your time in step 3…it’s worth it. Thank you for sharing!

OMG, they were BURNED after 10+12 minutes! I did everything exactly as described. I baked my second batch for 10 minutes only and it came out about right. I can’t believe ovens can vary THAT much. Wow. And it was way way way too much seasoning for me- and i like heavily seasoned food. I must have did something wrong, but no idea what could it have been :(

This recipe looks amazing! I’ve wanted to make kale chips for so long, yet have put it off because I never knew exactly how to do it. So, thank you for this recipe! I’ll be definitely trying it! However, I have one question– I’m allergic to yeast. Is there anything I can substitute for the nutritional yeast? I’m guessing it probably gives the kale that cheesy flavor, but is there anything I can use instead?

I am baking my very first batch using your recipe, so I hope they turn out well. Actually, I modified your recipe and omitted the yeast bc I realized I didn’t have any at the last minute. What is the purpose of the yeast in this recipe? Thanks for sharing!

Just made kale chips using your tips and they are perfect!!
Thanks so much. The tip about making sure they’re dry and then coated in oil I think does the trick :)
Even my fussy 3 year old is munching them down!!

I had no ‘nutritional yeast’ (don’t know what that is) and no smoked paprika… and I was a skeptic; love my potato chips. But, I made it with what I had, and followed the tips, came out perfectly, and now I am a believer! Trying to be healthier without sacrifice, and this works!! Thanks!

Great tips. I do large batches in the conventional oven and microwave simultaneously. Drying the kale after a good rinse is the biggest challenge, in my opinion! It’s worth it’s weight in paper towels, however. I rec’d 2 microwave chip trays as a gift. I am pretty certain they are from the Pampered Chef: they are superb! I never massage my chips but use a misto with either canola or cocoanut oil, just spraying the one side directly on the trays. My microwave does them perfectly @ 2min22secs, if a few of them are not totally crisp, I add another 20 seconds. {don’t let any popping sounds scare you, it’s the oil} In the conventional oven, I do 10-12 minutes @ 350. I store in a zip lock bag with 2 tblsp rice in the bottom. If they seem they are loosing their crispness, I just put them in the microwave for 20-30 seconds on a paper towel prior to serving, and they re-crisp quite nicely!
P.S. A misto is an oil sprayer that you can fill with your own oil instead of paying out the wazoo and disposing of numerous cans of aerosol spray oils like Pam. I’ve been thru a few in my cooking era, and my most recent favorite one is BPA-free clear plastic with a white lid. It looks like a perfume bottle, but does a very good job of spraying after you pump the lid to resistance. I hope this helps. Cheerio

Tried this recipe after several failed attempts at kale chips. These flavors were amazing! my picky veggie eaters (ages 3yr and 5yr) are on their second serving! I added a bit of parm shake cheese to this mix and loved it. Thanks for the great tips! This will be a forever replacement for potato chips in our house!

I’ve been using this recipe for my Red Russian Kale from my garden. The chips have been fabulous and my 13 month old gobbles them up as soon as they are cool. She calls them “cwackahs” (crackers, close enough!). Since I loved the recipe so much, I just tried it with Broccoli Leaves! It works great! I was pulling out my broccoli plants and really didn’t want the leaves to go to waste. They taste just like kale, possibly better. I haven’t decided yet. I’m excited to know my broccoli leaves won’t go to waste. I found storing the chips in a glass container with a sealing lid keeps them crispy for a week or more. Thanks for the recipe!

Thank you so much for these tips! I’ve never made kale chips but have been wanting to and I finally did last night. They came out great but still had that burnt/too crispy flavor you had mentioned. But I’m not giving up. I’ll definitely give this one another try but probably for 20 minutes instead of 25. Thanks again!! :)

These look fantastic. I’ve tried them in the past, based on comments from friends, but these look like they may work. Any difference/suggestions on using a baking stone vs. an aluminum baking sheet? I tend to bake nearly everything on my stoneware, but occasionally a recipe will work better on a conventional pan.

I have done kale chips recipes before but my friends didn’t like it. I tried browsing the net and hope to find something that will excite and interest me. Gladly, I was able to read it. I hope to have a better kale chips this time. Thanks for sharing!

Great tips. I’d never cooked these before but had a ton of kale from a farm share I bought into for the summer. I didn’t want it to go to waste since I can’t stand more than a handful of kale in my salads, so I needed some other way to eat it. This is by far the best way to serve kale know. They taste remarkably similar to potato chips. Came out perfectly crispy even though it’s my first time thanks to your tips. I just used a general seasoning blend and canola oil though.

Hi Angela tried my first baked kale chips. they were crispy alright with very few scorched ones. I didn’t like the taste tho as I only used salt and it tasted bitter. What could possibly remove the natural bitterness of the curly kale. Thanks your tips were great

Excellent!! So glad I found this recipe first! They were perfect and delicious! Thanks for such detailed instructions. You are right about the 3 minute wait time, nearly impossible! Had to walk away and write this so I wouldn’t eat them all! Thank You!!!!

I was recently in Alaska at a “U-Pick” farm and visited will a lady about kale and she told me about making chips and how her dog waits by the oven door when she bakes them She said she used a oil, vinegar, and spice mixture and was looking to see if I could find her recipe–didn’t write it down! Also, I am allergic–get deathly sick–to both olive oil and coconut oil. Can I use melted butter instead? Don’t like the flavor of vegetable oil! Thank you.

Wow…that went fast…in the country I live we use Celcius instead of Fahrenheit so calculated that it must be 300F is 140C. I dried the Kale well, did everything you said. It wasnt in the oven for 10 minutes and they were all crispy. I was afraid to leave it longer because it would burn. It was nice tho…It took me 2 minutes to get it all down…now I want more ;)

Thanks so much for this! I love kale chips but have burnt or soggy-fied it too many times to number. I tried this on some weird flat kale/ swiss chard mix and it worked an absolute treat, the best, crispest green chips ever!

Also instead of paprika I’ve been sprinkling sumac on these, as well as other broiled/ roast veggies and it works a treat!

Hey! I love reading all your recipes, and I’m eager to try them. I’m not a vegan, or even a vegetarian, but I COULD be because I’m not very fond of meat. Hey, did you guys ever notice that people who don’t eat meat are almost always nice people? :-)

Thanks I’ve never been too crazy about kale chips but the low heat definitely helped. However, I used the convection temperature and they were done in 15 minutes. Glad I was watching them. Turned out perfect!

All kale is not created equal. Yup, curly kale is best.
Your procedure is just about perfect, but have to watch….
Some batches take 10 minutes on 300 degrees, then oven off and leave kale in for another 15 minutes. Perfection.
Some batches take 10 minutes, turn, 10 to 15 more minutes. Perfection again.
I found that I need to go very, very light on the salt!

Thanks for the most perfect recipe ever!!! I followed exactly except I didn’t have the yeast… However, they turned out awesome! Crisp, tasty and perfect! Thank you so much! Love when a recipe actually works! :)

After only one round for trial and error. I played around with my first batch because if there is one thing I know, is that having a 1950’s stove, my oven doesn’t eat like a modern day oven. I se the oven to 300*and set my timer for 10 minutes to turn the pan. When the buzzer went off and I opened the door, it was too late. They were already burnt. So I tossed’em out started on round two. So I adjusted my oven to 250* degrees and then set my oven timer for 5 minutes. When the timer went off I turned the pan and set it for another 5 minutes, and whooolaa! So now I have it down pat. Thanks for the basic foundation recipe.

I picked my Kale, came inside and looked for a recipe. Wow I found 6 Tips for Flawless Kale Chips + All-Dressed Kale Chips recipe. So I tried it. This is the best recipe and tips I have tried. I did less hot spices to my taste but the timing was perfect. Next time a little dill weed might go in. Thank you Karla

I stumbled across this when looking for a way to perfect kale chips. My mom recently attempted and don’t get me wrong she is an amazing cook but they did not turn out. Let’s jus say I ended up outdoing her by following this recipe. I made a huge batch and left the house, came back and they were all gone! Thank you!

Thank you for the tips. I definitely cooked mine at 300 degrees F and I didn’t notice any burnt taste to them. I also used the racks for my dehydrator and that helped me cook a bigger batch at a time without needing to turn it (15 min/batch).

When I took this to church for our Bible study, everybody liked it. And the pastor later said that they really tasted good even though he’s not supposed to admit it because he’s a man. :-)

The next day, some of them were not as crispy so I put them back in the oven for a few minutes as an experiment. It worked! They got crispy again.

I just found your recipe for Kale chips and just wanted to say THANK YOU!. This was my first time making them and my family LOVED them. Thank you for the tips to make these delicious chips. I will be doing this again.

These are so tasty. Super fast and easy with my dehydrator. I’m making a jar of spice mix just for these so I can make them even faster. I can’t get enough. I buy Kale from a roadside stand. Whole plant $2.

This is a fantastic recipe. I’m using the convection at 150C for a total of 20mins. I rotate my pan half way and I’m left with kale chip perfection! There is no need at all to flip or toss the chips around half way. Thank you so much for all you do! The detail of this post is really wonderful!

Ok, I followed your directions to the “T”. But , I think that it didn’t come out like it should have because I didn’t use ENOUGH kale. I was worried i would put too much on the tray (as you said you have done in the past). So it was WAY to spicy. (And I LIKE spice) and the end product was almost dust like. Almost all of it disintegrated. What was left wasn’t really edible cause of the overload of seasoning per kale amount. I will try again and seek to perfect it. I don’t like kale, so I am looking for a way to add it in to my new diet. A suggestion? It would be helpful with this type of recipe to add the weight of the kale you used. That would make things easier when trying to figure out what a Half is! Thanks for sharing and I hope I have success with this soon!-MN Mama

So I just cooked up a batch, I started off with 10 mins at 300 degrees but after the 10 minutes it smelled like they were burning. I pulled them out and they shrunk tremendously! is this just because of my oven or is something else wrong?

They will always shrink a lot. As long as they aren’t burnt they are turning out properly. I keep an eye on mine closely and if they seem to be getting too dark I will turn the oven down by 50 degrees.

Keep an eye on cooking time. I have a KitchenAid gas oven. Followed every step, except cook time. At 300 degrees fahrenheit on convection bake, mine were almost done at 10 minutes. I kept in for 3 more, and they were perfect — 13 minutes total.

Made this All Dressed Up Kale Chips recipe today and it was really, really good! I followed the directions exactly, and used the convection bake feature on my oven. It was so easy and absolutely the best kale chips I’ve ever tasted.

Since I don’t have a salad spinner, after washing the kale I put it into a clean pillow case, tied the open end with string, and put it into my clothes dryer on “air dry”. For 5 minutes. Works like a charm!

What a great recipe. I even gave it to my vegetables-avoiding-boyfriend who absolutely loved it and stole a bit from my plate! I was just wondering, does it keep any nutritious value? I know it’s a great substitute for normal chips but I was just wondering :)

Just wanted to let you know that I use this recipe and method at least once a week and I’m completely obsessed. They very rarely make it from the pan on top of the oven to a bag for later. Thank you for posting this!

I have never tried kale before and i made this just now and after 10 minutes..i went to turn and rhey were already done. In fact…so done that they were flat flat flat and was like biting into super dry leaves during fall time or like thin paper. It was so weird. What did i do wrong????

Based on the fact that they charge $6 per minuscule bag at the store I was anticipating a very difficult process and time consuming process. 100% success on my first try from the recipe in your cookbook. Yum!

Your recipe uses adult curly kale. However, my mom came home with a container of baby kale and announced that she wants to use baby kale to make kale chips. Has anyone ever made chips with baby kale? Are there any recipe changes, or other potential issue(s) to consider, when making chips from baby kale?

Omg these were FLAWLESS. I was skeptical, but these are hands down the best kale chips I have ever, ever made. I’m tempted to go make myself another batch because I downed the first batch in like 5 minutes. SO GOOD.

This recipe turned out really well. One of the guys at work brought in a bunch of kale from his garden and no one was taking any so I felt compelled to take some and do something with it. I haven’t made kale chips for awhile because they always turned out burned or soggy or something. I happened to have some nutritional yeast in the cupboard (I think that’s what it was) and it added a somewhat savory flavor. I added a bit more olive oil than your recipe called for and I think it helps them stay crispy longer. I’ve had them in a wide-mouth ball mason jar for 3 days now and they’re still crispy.

Hi and thanks for the tips. My biggest issue is how do you store the Kale Chips after cooking and keep them crisp. They always seem to go soggy and chewy if you put them in an air tight container etc… Do you just keep them out and not cover them? I know they are so good, that there are not often many left over after a few mins, but I am trying to make a batch for the week! Thanks in advance.

Loved this recipe! First time ever to try to make kale chips and glad I went with this recipe. I did leave pieces of the thick stem in and liked it too. Added oil, salt, turmeric, paprika. Can’t wait to try with other spices. Will make several batches to eat while watching football tomorrow. Thank you!

Thank you, thank you so much! I have been trying to make good Kale Chips for a while. Dah I never thought about turning down the temperature on the oven. These things were crazy good!
I tried one batch with your spice mixture and it was very good. Well I have been into lemons (I fried some lemon slices and oh my goodness so good) so I used some lemon pepper and wow!! Very, very good!! (I like lemons though).
Also tried some spinach chips. Awesome sauce!! You prepare them like the kale but you don’t bake as long the kale chips I did about 16 minutes in my oven on 300 degrees turning the pan half way through.
Again thank you

Wow! Excellent recipe. Just pulled my chips out of the oven and my family has eaten almost all of them. They are perfectly crisp. I sprayed olive oil on the leaves with a refillable cooking mister ( “Misto”) to get a lightly oiled chip. yummm!

Thanks for this recipe. I’ve been wanting to make kale chips for a long time because they’re so expensive to buy. I used just over half of the spice mixture as given and even that was too much seasoning. Next time I’ll add a bit more nutritional yeast and much less of everything else. I found the spices really masked the taste of the kale. I guess my oven runs hot because after 10 minutes at 300 degrees they were almost done. I rotated, cooked for another 7 minutes and they were done. Thanks again!

OMG – They worked! My family groaned when I said I was going to try them again after many failed attempts. I followed your tips and this time they were great. Tasted like crispy seaweed snacks you can buy in the UK. Thanks!

Hi there, what a great question! The two types of yeast are actually different: the yeast used in bread is what’s known as “active” yeast, and it works as a leavening agent (helping your baked goods to rise); nutritional yeast, on the other hand, is an “inactive,” dead form of yeast. Nutritional yeast is great for lending a cheesy, nutty flavour to vegan recipes, and is also rich in protein and often fortified with B vitamins. I love adding it to sauces, gravies, and dressings, or sprinkling it on popcorn or garlic bread. Hope this helps! :)

From the empirical scientist that I am, also one on a very limited fixed budget…
1) So the salad spinner and/or abundant paper towels are unlikely components to my method, in lieu I use a clean (i.e., washed with vinegar) beach towel, just roll up the kale in the towel, gently squeeze, and roll out nice, dry kale…
2) I use a very large bowl having a sealing cover to coat my dried kale with olive oil, and whatever other seasonings I like at the time, cover, then I work my appetite by generously shake the bowl, thoroughly coating the kale, and getting the heart rate up….
3) Lastly, to avoid standing over the oven eating the chips, I rotate between two or three baking sheets of chips…that way Another Rascal In The House May Eat The Igneous Kale…it’s all in the ARITHEMATIK!

I love. Love. Love! Your recipes. I’ve been wanting to try kale, and searched through dozens of recipes before I found yours. I just happened to have all the necessary ingredients, so I set to work with my freshly purchased bag of chopped kale. I put the kale into a large produce bag, and then sprinkled in the coconut oil. I shook the bag vigorously, and kind of mushed it around a little bit with my hands. All the leaves appear to be coated. I then sprinkled in the dry ingredients, and shook the bag again, distributing everything evenly. It all looked really good when I dumped it out on the pans. Kale is now the oven, and I can smell that wonderful aroma. I might not make it through the entire baking time.
Okay, I managed to make it through the entire baking time. Oh. My. Goodness! Have you ever tried to text while hanging onto the baking pan with one hand and eating with the other and texting with your nose? These are wonderful! The next time I make please, and there will be a next time, I will use my cajun spice on them. I must go now. I have two pounds of kale chips to eat. I mean put away!

These were perfect and delicious, my neighbor has these massive kale plants he didn’t know what to do with so I found this recipe and made chips all afternoon, not one failure! Simply scrumptious and sooo moreish and enough for everyone, will do it again tomorrow! Thankyou so much for this recipe :-)

Yummy!!! I brought a bunch of kale to put in my salad, but had allot left over. I went in search of kale recipes and came across this one. I made a small batch since I wasn’t sure if they would turn out OK. OMG….they were wonderful and I ate them all. Going to make more very soon.

I tried to make kale chips I ended up burning them. I’m using airfryer. Small quantity I cook because it’s only me eating .i didn’t change the setting it was in 180 c for 10 then reduce to 6min. Three times I burnt. Them. Till I change to 150c for 4 to 5 minutes and presto it’s perfectly cooked. I put bit of olive oil and a pinch of free range chicken powder. Leaves we’re still green and crunnnnnnnchie. Love it.

Hi Kayla, To be honest, kale chips are best served and eaten right away—they don’t seem to retain their crispiness very well no matter how I’ve stored them. I tend to leave the batch on the pan and snack on them throughout the afternoon or evening. However, you can also try reheating them in the oven to crisp them back up. (I would try about 5 to 7 minutes at 300F, then let them crisp up on the pan for a few minutes more.) If you give it a try, I hope that helps!

Never tried kale before, and neither has my kids. The first batch I did a skillet chicken Caesar and kale dish and my kids picked out the chicken to eat. So, tonight I’m trying the chips. I laid them out on the sheet on top off oven with it on and door opened and they dried in about 15 I kept mixing and wiping w my hands. I am waiting to try them now. I hope I didn’t use to much oil.

This recipe was super. Since its Passover, I left out the yeast and the kale chips are crispy and really tasty.Thanks so much. The other fun bit is that I have a big dog who is fed naturally with home made food, she also loved the kale chips!!

I am making my second batch today! Thanks for all the great tips. It works perfectly when you follow all of the tips.
I wanted to share that I used red kale, spun the kale in a salad spinner, Coconut Oil spray, one side only, and Garlic Bread Sprinkle. Totally delicious! Totally easy!
Thanks for sharing!!

Kale: good and good for you! Just for information: all yeast is fungus, if a person has an over growth, or “imbalance”, known as candida albacans. From experience I speak! It will make you very sick. Eat well, Be well!

Bless you for doing all the research & trials to create perfect Kale
Chips. Had to fix a 2nd batch immediately for my husband to gobble up. As a junk food junkie I never thought I’d her him say “hell with Lays, Doritoes, all of them. Make kale chips & put in quart containers. Hmmmm. I’ll try but wonder if they will last long enough. LOL. Thank you. Now I need to find your book!

Just wanted to thank you for this recipe. I wanted to try kale chips, but was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get it right. Your tips for cooking them resulted in perfect kale chips on my first try. I haven’t tried the seasoning yet because the first batch I made I opted to go with just salt. Can’t wait to make some more and play around with the seasonings. Yours sounds delicious so I will start there and then get creative with my own combinations. Thank you!

How much is a “bunch of kale” ? I have tons of kale in my garden that I need to find a use for. But, not knowing the actual quantity makes it hard not to get too much or too little of the other ingredients. If I could get an estimate in “cups of kale” or “ounces of kale” that would be most helpful.

To store – I cut down a paper grocery bag to about 8 inches, line it with paper towels( place extra on bottom to absorb excess oil) and then insert that bag into a plastic grocery bag in case the oil seeps through! The kale stays crispy for at least 3 days and I leave it open on my counter so I can reach in and help myself when ever I feel the urge (which is all the time)!

Thank you for this fabulous recipe. After wasting a trolley-load of kale in the past trying to bake chips, I had nearly despaired. You have finally delivered the ultimate recipe! I baked 4 trays on Tuesday and need to bake more already – my 12 year old son is hoovering them up!

What about giving metric equivalents for quantities and Celsius for temperatures? There are only two countries in the world that use Imperial weights and measures and fahrenheit temperatures – the US and the UK. All the rest of the world is metric and Celsius. It might be the case that you have no wish to have people outside the US and the UK take an interest in your recipes, but if that’s not so, please save thousands of readers the trouble of reaching for their conversion tables by doing it just once yourself.

Just made my first batch of kale chips but I hadn’t found your site until now. Your tips seem to solve all my issues. I have one question: I use a dehydrator and unless I’m drying jerky, I set my temps at 95 degrees (for all fruits and veggies… including ‘leathers’ aka fruit roll ups). I can’t seem to find directions on how long to dry the kale at 95 degrees. What do you think?

I made these, at another commenter’s suggestion, in a 350 deg. convection oven for 11 min. and they were PERFECT. My daughter and I didn’t even wait the 3 minutes to let them cool; we stood at the counter and ate the whole pan. DELICIOUS!!!

Pampered Chef has a funny plastic rubber thing to make chips in the microwave. I’ve tried it and it’s as good as baked and much faster. I make them for company as appetizers. The Pampered Chef thing advertised as for potato chips. Those were not satisfactory.

VEGANISM note to parents. My son has been a vegan for half his life. At first I was concerned about this decision, thinking it was too extreme. Well, 18 years later, not only is he well and happy but has just qualified for the Boston marathon. The trick is they need to know
something about nutrition. If they’re knowledgable, it’ll be all right. And maybe end up a fabulous cook like my son or Angela. Tip on kale chips: make sure they’re very dry and if
you live in the monterey California area use the vegan bacon olive oil. SOOOO good!

Hi Donna, In all honesty, kale chips are best served and eaten right away—they don’t retain their crunchiness very well no matter how I’ve stored them. I tend to leave the batch on the pan and snack on them throughout the day. If you do store them, you can try reheating leftovers in the oven to crisp them back up. (I would try about 5 to 7 minutes at 300F, then let them crisp up on the pan for a few minutes more.) If you give it a try, I hope that helps!

Hi, I tried the kale chips, and they turned very dark, looked unappealing, and tasted uckky. Next batch, I took out while they were still green, after about 5 minutes, let them cool and ate them as a salad. I think i’m not meant to have homemade kale chips…..Great recipe, perhaps, but sad results.

Hi Noreen, Great question! Nutritional yeast is great for lending a cheesy, nutty flavour to vegan recipes, so I love sprinkling it on kale chips. It’s different than the yeast used in bread (which is what’s known as “active” yeast and works as a leavening agent).

I don’t use all the spices–just a sprinkling of sea salt. I bake at 300 degrees for 15 minutes. I also cover my baking sheets with parchment paper–when they cool down a bit, I pick up the paper and dump them into a bowl. Put the paper back down and bake another sheet full. I store them in the open bowl on the counter and munch on them for the next week–never get soggy, but stay crisp.

This recipe worked perfectly for me! I roasted the kale per the instructions at 300 degrees in my electric oven for 20 minutes total, rotating the pan once. I will personally cut back on the seasoning next time and just do a light salt and pepper. I’m so happy that my mom-in-law sent me this recipe because my past kale chips effort were a soggy and burned failure.

I want to try to make kale chips for the first time, but I got stuck with 1/2 of bunch. I havr kale growing in my garden so thwt font come in bunhes :D How much really is that in grams approximately? Thank you!

Hi Angela, thanks for the Kale chip recipe all dressed up. I don’t have any nutritional yeast any other suggestions? And ,how would a bit of mustard powder do to the flavor?
I tried to do them before in the dehydrator but I could not get the seasoning to stick, do you still oil them and mix the seasoning the same way and then dehydrate them?
My seasonings always fell off.
Can you also send me your recipe for roasted chickpeas and are they so hard that they can hurt your teeth when you eat them?
Appreciate you bunches, Bonnie

These are awesome! I was out of onion powder so I had to omit this ingredient but they were still delicious! The taste is night and day compared to store bought kale chips from the natural food section at the grocery store. They don’t even compare. Needless to say, they did not last five minutes!

Can kale chips be reheated to add crispness. I am making these ahead of time for a school garden program and will not be able to prepare on location. Can I make ahead and put a large batch in the school oven to reheat before program? Or any tips to keep them fresh longer?

Hi Amy, You can try reheating them in the oven to crisp them back up, for sure. I think I’d suggest about 5 to 7 minutes at 300F, then let them crisp up on the pan for a few minutes more. If you give it a try, I really hope that helps! (And please let us know how it goes!)

I had never had this before and I really didn’t know what to do with the Kale I brought home the other day. I love it! I want to try all sorts of combinations with what to season with. Thank you for posting!

I grow A LOT of Kale… we just harvested half our Kale with making “chips” in mind. I have an Excalibur, also have 3 ovens. I’m trying a few different methods to find the one that works best for us and the volume of Kale we have to process.

We spent the morning washing, and de-stemming it all (a LARGE clear plastic leaf bag worth) We were trying to mass SPIN the excess water off, when my hubby said, “Can’t we dry it in the dryer?” I said, “give it a go”… we used 2 flannel pillow cases, half filled each with fresh washed Kale, and popped it in the dryer, set to “delicate” the pillow case came out VERY damp, but the Kale was perfectly DRY. The time it saved is invaluable… thought we’d pass the “tip” along in the event you too are drying literally pounds of Kale leaves!!

Tried this recipe last week, love all your tips especially about rubbing the kale with olive oil (rather than drizzling the oil over) and using a lower temperature for a longer time so the chips don’t get burnt! The kale chips turned out perfect, crispy and not oily! My grandson ate almost the whole lot in one sitting! Thanks for sharing!

I had never made kale chips before but I followed your very specific instructions and they were perfect! I’m sure they would have been burnt or soggy following other recipes. I used paprika, cayenne pepper and salt with olive oil which was delicious. Will try your recipe when I get some nutritional yeast. Thanks so much for your great tips!

Hi Angela, I made kale chips again with your flavouring. I used the optional cayenne pepper but regretted it because it was a little too spicy for my liking. Loved the taste, though and you’ve converted me to ‘nooch’. I will definitely try the recipe again with a little less chilli powder or cayenne pepper. Thanks so much again for your precise instructions. I think one bad batch of kale chips would have put me off making them again, but my partner and I are converts!

I am so looking forward to making the chips using your methods. So glad i choice your site when looking for a recipe I am grateful for the time you took to let everyone know what can/will go wrong . I am adding your site to my favorite list and will be back to reply after i make my chips.
Thanks

Thank you so much for this recipe! I just made kale chips for the first time following your recipe, which popped up in Google search and picked by my randomly, and they are delicious! I tossed the kale in a little bit of coconut oil and added a clove of garlic in there ’cause in my kitchen, everything’s gotta have garlic. Can’t wait to have hubby give them a try! Thank you again for a great recipe and fantastic tips.

This recipe really does make delicious kale chips. I am in the U.K. and have a fan oven so for me 20mins at 130 degrees centigrade did the trick. Don’t have a salad spinner so dried the kale after washing between two tea towels. Perfect and thanks for sharing!

Ah lady! Thank you so much! I’m Peri-menopausal and Kale is one of the foods I’m supposed to eat to relieve the symptoms, which can be intense! I know it’s awesomely nutritious outside of helping me get through body going nuts…haha! I’ve been searching for creative recipes for the chips and that’s how I found you. Now following you on Twitter. You’ve helped me a lot :)

Hey Emily, Personally, I find kale chips are best served and eaten right away—they don’t seem to retain their crispiness very well for me (no matter how I’ve stored them!). However, some readers have said they’ve had success storing their kale chips in an open container on the counter. So maybe give that a try? You can also try reheating leftover chips in the oven to crisp them back up, if you find they’ve lost some of their crispiness. (I would try about 5 to 7 minutes at 300F, then let them crisp up on the pan for a few minutes more.) I hope this helps!

I quadrupled this recipe as I had two bunches of kale. I’ve never left a comment on a recipe before but these turned out perfectly. The tips to keep them crispy and not burnt worked beautifully! The seasoning was lovely, I ate quite a bit of the kale raw with the oil and seasonings it was awesome! The only thing I needed more of was nutritional yeast as I ran out and only had about half of the amount needed. They’re still perfect. Thank you so much!!

Wow!I have tried a few times but kale always came out soggy! I followed your instructions and that did it ! They came out …oh…so crispy ! The 300 degree and spread out tips worked flawlessly ! Thank You!

I made these and changed up the method after a few tries .I did the same prep of leaves,ie no stems and dried in paper towel on a cookie sheet on top of oven as the oven was warming,thus saving wasting towels to dry it.The chips came out great at 325 degree oven and no turning just 20 minutes.
Once out I sprinkled the spices but found it too bitter,so I took 3/4 of tsp of granular sugar and sprinkled over evenly.
This took the bitterness out .I may try with some Parmesan instead of sugar as Im not a fan of bitter

These turned out perfect. Thank you for the suggestions! I’m didn’t use this recipe this time since I’m not using salt for a detox on, but the suggestions were was right on time. I used smoked paprika, a fresh herb mix called “pizza mix”, garlic powder and olive oil. Placed them in my convection toaster oven at 300 degrees for 15 min and they turned out perfect. Yumm!

Hey all, I was just thinking….if the kale has been previously washed, wouldn’t it be safe to just prepare the kale without washing it? Doesn’t heat kill bacteria, ect? So I guess we need a food scientist to let us know the answer!

I have never been very “into” kale until just a few weeks ago. I had only eaten it raw in salad before, and wanted to try my hand at the chips. (I didn’t want to pay $7 for a package of pre-made ones at the store!)

I didn’t have any nutritional yeast, (I’ll try it next time) but I put everything else in your recipe on mine. I baked for your suggested 10 minutes at 300, rotated the pan, and baked for another 14 minutes.

Perfection! Very tasty and satisfying. Flavorful, light and crispy. And, at $.80 for a serving large enough to satisfy my salty, crunchy food craving, awesome on the body AND the wallet.

I love this seasoning! I added 1/4 tsp. citric acid and it completely popped. I also used smoked jalapeno for the chili pepper. I dried them in a dehydrator, at them immediately, and now need to go out and get more kale! What a great way to get so many nutrients!

So I didn’t measure my coconut oil out because I had precut kale in a bag and didn’t know how much to use and so I just poured it in with the kale. BAD IDEA. It didn’t make it soggy, however it made them cook really fast. After 10min they were almost burned. For the second batch, I guess there was more oil because it was on the bottom and after 10min they were barely cooked. The more you know. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I made the chips last season from a slightly different recipe and they needed improvement. So I tried this one, substituting grated parmesan for yeast and potassium chloride (No Salt) for sodium chloride. I picked 25 of my big kale leaves and they filled three oven pans. Very dry around here, with just a bit of morning dew, so after tearing off the petioles I set the leaves in the hot sun on 22×16″ pieces of 1/2″ hardware cloth I use to make oven jerky. In about a half hour they were ready to oil and spice. No dryers, no bags, so large time and energy savings there.
I had the last pansfull oiled and spiced, so decided to experiment. I put the leaves on paper and covered them with one of my pieces of hardware cloth to keep them from blowing away. It was about 90F on my deck. I took them in after about 4-5 hrs and to my surprise they were far better than any baked chip I have ever tasted. They retained much of their nice green color and were slightly thicker and far more pleasant to eat, being crunchier, less oily and with not a hint of burned or dry edges or fine oily particles. I’m going to make my entire kale crop into these in a day or two. No more indoor oven work when its already blistering hot outdoors.

I love these kale chips! The spice mixture is amazing, it goes great on popcorn! Thank you for sharing this recipe, I have been using your recipe for at least two years now, it’s my go to, especially for the spice mix.

Hal’s Kale Chips
I modified an internet technique that called for yeast and sodium chloride and a 230F oven. Chips came out dark , with a few burnt edges, and a bit too oily for my taste. I substituted grated parmesan for yeast and potassium chloride (No Salt) for sodium chloride and used oil in spray cans. This technique saves time and energy as there are no requirements for dryers, bags, and a 230F oven, if the oven is used at all, for a large time and energy savings
Ingredients for four screens or oven racks of kale pieces. This takes about 32 large (12-16″) leaves:
Spray can of olive or coconut oil.
4 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
3 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp chile powder
2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
2 tsp No-Salt or fine regular salt or sea salt

Equipment
Four pieces of 1/2″ mesh hardware cloth 22×16″. These are my jerky screens.
Paper (kraft, newsprint, or old newspapers)
Large bowl for oiling and spicing; small bowl to mix spices.
Shaker with holes no smaller than 3/16″

Technique
Pick leaves mid-day when it is dry and tear off large pieces. There are a couple pair of bite-size lower lobes on my leaves so I pull those off first and then tear the big upper section off the petiole and pull it in half. Fill all four screens and set out in hot sun in a place where there is little or no wind. Let dry for an hour or so, then bring inside.
To oil, first spray the leaves when still on the screen, then let them fall into the big bowl, oil side down, and spray again. Then massage and tumble the leaves till coated all over. Repeat, but this time the leaves can be turned upside down on the first screen and sprayed on the other side before putting in the bowl and massaging. Drying and oiling reduces the size of the pieces and they now will fill only three screens.
To spice, fill the shaker with the mix and alternately shake, massage, and tumble the pieces till the shaker is empty.
Put the prepared leaves on a piece of paper, place in the hot sun, and cover with a screen. About 4-5 hours is usually long enough to finish the chips. But if it gets overcast or windy, or you wish to hasten the process a bit, merely place them in a 180F oven as a unit till the chips are dry and crunchy. Make the unit by setting the three drying assemblies on top of the empty screen.
I freeze my kale chips loose in plastic containers for winter enjoyment.
I

Hi Conchita, That spice sounds fantastic! Hope you enjoyed the end result. As to your previous question about using “bake” versus “roast” on your oven, it sounds like you figured things out alright without me. :) As every oven is a bit different, I’m not positive what setting would be best, but I think I would’ve said you’re probably safe with using the bake setting so long as you just keep an eye on them. Out of curiousity, which did you go with?

I bought a huge bag of organic kale pre-cut & washed & did not have to worry about the drying time :D I made it to your specifications & it turned out wonderfully! I made 2 batches and ate it all. :P Thank you.

Just tried your Kale Chips, wow, they are exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for all the tips which by the way, challenges my patience! But well worth the time spent in preparing, cooking and the final cool down to make them crispy!

Hey Kim, We tend to gobble ours up the same day usually (kale chip fanatics over here, haha), so I’m really not sure. My guess is that they wouldn’t last much longer than a few days on the counter. I think they also tend to lose their crunch over time.

Made these for my husband who wanted kale chips – a double recipe was gone while I blinked! Clearly he didn’t like them at all. ;). I’ve made 25X the seasoning mix & stored it away for future use. Thanks for a new fave!

Bought the organic chopped kale at Costco, triple washed. Followed your directions, omitting the yeast because didn’t have any. The technique is spot on and the seasonings were fabulous! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe.

I followed directions exactly. They came out tasting burnt. Maybe if I ever try again it will be 10 minutes twice & not the 10 & 15. Or maybe 275 instead of 300 degrees. The burnt taste makes them taste nasty & I normally love kale.

I didn’t really have time to dry mine thoroughly, so I added the grill plate from my toaster oven to the top of the pan and placed the kale on top of that because the grill has little legs that lift it about 1 inch and this allowed any moisture to drip from the leaves during the baking process and they turned out perfectly crunchy. :)

You know what works better? Spray them with olive oil, sprinkle on flavour of choice (I just use salt and pepper, maybe some garlic powder) and put them in an air fryer for 10 minutes. Perfect every time with minimal effort.

Thanks for this! I used the Lazy Genius’ google search advice: when looking for a new recipe online add “best” to your search. I found you! I actually had nutritional yeast because I’m a Whole30er. 😜 My oven must be way off because I took the first batch out at 16 minutes and they were dark/partly burned. No biggie! My husband, 6 yo and I still liked them! And now we tweak or… buy a new oven. 😂

Thank you for the advice. I haven’t made kale chips in a long time, because I’d tried it once and they didn’t turn out well. With your tips they turned out delicious! I didn’t have nutritional yeast at home, but they are great anyways.

Hey Wendy, to be honest, I don’t think they retain their crispiness no matter how I’ve stored them (glass or otherwise). You might have success reheating your kale chips in the oven the next day (I do this with roasted chickpeas all the time and it works great!). I hope that helps!

Kale is on sale this week, so I decided to give Kale Chips another try. Having lost my previous recipe (which was no great loss considering it produced burnt, but otherwise flavorless, chips) I googled Kale Chips and chose the first page recipe with the highest rating. I was immediately excited when I saw the recipe called for Nutritional Yeast because I had just purchased my first jar and had no clue what to do with it. Prep time is a little off as it took some time to dry the kale thoroughly without a salad spinner. But the results are Oh. So. Worth. It. I am enjoying my bowl of crispy, flavorful, perfectly done but not overdone, kale chips as I write this review.

Every set of directions for kale chips has failed for me, and this on is no exception. I only had them in the oven for 18 minutes and they came out so crispy that they disintegrated when trying to put one into my mouth. I’ll try again at a lower temperature, maybe 250, or for only 14 to 15 minutes and see what happens.

I just tried your tips. I used the convection oven setting at 325F, which self adjusts to 300F. Came out great! They can grab a lot of oil, so I had added too much oil into the bowl of kale pieces, and once massaging in I noticed this. I then added a few more, and then a few more, uncoated leaves to get the coating thinner as I continued to massage the leaves and oil together. I coated them with only cracked pepper and sea salt, which what I use in all my cooking, and they came out great! Such a light way to get your healthy kale. Tried a little celery salt on a few, red pepper on a few, both worked and were good – added along with the salt and cracked pepper. I’ll try some other seasonings next time.

They are delicious! I ended up baking them as instructed before turning, because I noticed that my chips were becoming crispy fast. So, it only took another 7 minutes baking time after turning.
It could be due to my hot oven or maybe due to my fresh picked kale out of my garden.
Btw..this is a great spice blend, too.
I’m enjoying….

Hi, I’m going to try your recipe. Your cat’s photo shows a body posture generally indicating a cat in a good deal of pain: hunched up back, feet drawn in close, eyes half closed (also could be nearly sleeping). I guess you knew she had to be experiencing some pain, and I hope your vet provided her a remedy for her. Sorry for the ordeal for both of you. Regards,

Thank you so much for this recipe! I’ve made Kale chips before but they always turned out soggy or burnt and this time they were perfect! I massaged the leaves pretty good, though I thought I put too much oil on it yet it turned out perfect! All I seasoned it with was Mrs. Dash onion flavour, cayenne pepper and pepper and baked at 250 for about 25 – 30 minutes checking at 10 minutes then another 10 then 5 and 5!